┌─────━┿──┿━─────┐

𝐓𝐖𝐎 : 𝐀𝐃𝐀𝐌 & 𝐄𝐕𝐄

└─────━┿──┿━─────┘

 "The journals have got to have something," snapped Blondie in an irritated tone. We had been looking through my mother's writings for over an hour and hadn't found anything that could help us. "If she was this big and powerful witch, then shouldn't she have something to, I don't know, answer our prayers?"

"It's probably more complicated than we thought," I said with a sigh. "Crow knew all of this by heart, he wouldn't even need a little recipe to figure it out."

"You think he still has that recipe somewhere around here?" she asked. "Like...I don't know, Blaire, in his office?"

"Shut up," I murmured back as I stood. "It's, like, three in the morning or whatever."

We shuffled through the house and to the back of the hall where Crow's office was. I went in first, flipping on the light switch and heading for the desk as Blondie looked around. She frowned as she reached his desk and murmured, "I thought he'd be neater than this."

I ignored her comment and flipped through the papers on his desk. I'd seen him write the recipe down but it hadn't been in here, but knowing Crow, it was probably around here somewhere. He had to have known we would need it at some point.

I frowned at some of the papers, looking at bills for the church. I put them in a small pile, I'd have to give them to Macabre to take care of incase Crow was gone longer than we all expected. The bills were mostly for electrical which was nice, it seemed he'd paid off the loans a long time ago which wasn't surprising. He'd been around longer than anyone really thought.

"Is this it?" asked Blondie as she held out a small piece of paper.

I took it from her and smiled with a nod. "Seems like the list."

She scrunched her nose up in disgust. "I don't want to sound rude but how the hell do you expect us to get the 'blood of an innocent?'" I opened my mouth with a crooked girn and she held out a finger and snapped, "Don't you dare say from a baby, Blaire Lake."

I held up my hands with a small laugh before clearing my throat. "Out of the two of us, I'd say you were probably more innocent so–"

"Have you seen me?" she scoffed.

"And have you seen me?" I held up my hands, weighing the options with a sigh, "Sex versus murder, who do you think is going to win?"

She ran both hands over her head and murmured, "We take it from Luke."

"You're scared to give your blood, aren't you?"

She scowled. "I've given enough blood already, so have you. It's time my man does the same." She snatched the list from me and began to walk out of the office and I followed quickly, turning the lights off and trailing behind her in the hall. "Let's start with what we have here first. Crow definitely has...sage and rosemary."

We headed into the kitchen and we began to go through his cabinets. I found sage, tossing it onto the island as we looked for the rosemary. He had a small herbs and seasoning cabinet above the stove and after looking through the little labeled jars and containers, we found the herb.

"Okay, so we have two out of the seven ingredients," murmured Blondie with a sigh but I gave her a smile as I shook my head and said, "Actually, we have three."

"Three?"

I nodded, pointing to the list. "Blood of the summoner."

She made a small check next to the ingredients we had and nodded, tapping the end of the pen against her lips. "We can cross out something that belongs to the summoned, maybe go see if we can use some of his cologne or, like, hair from his brush?" She held up the small bundle of sage we'd found and chewed on the end of the pen as she said, "I'm going to see if I can look up any of the other ingredients, see if we can find them anywhere in town."

I nodded and headed back towards the hallway. I made sure Blondie didn't see me hesitate outside his closed bedroom door, my hand on the knob frozen with horrible stillness. There was a sick part of me that would enjoy going inside, seeing every little detail of his life he hadn't yet shown me. But the other part dreaded this, a sense of regret filling up my chest like swamp water, thick and rancid.

Opening the door, I stepped inside and shut it silently behind me. I rested my forehead against the door as I breathed deeply to steady myself before turning. It smelled like him here, his scent was heavy in the air. It was his cologne, the smell of his aftershave, and something I couldn't put my finger on. Was it spearmint? Or something woodsy?

His bedroom was very simple. There was a tall dresser pushed up against the wall in front of his bed. It was pressed against the wall to my right, and on top of it was an old watch and a few other little things he'd left, like his open bottle of cologne. It was so strange to me that he'd been in this bed just the day prior. He'd been here and now he wasn't. He was so far out of my reach it made my finger tips nearly go numb with anxiety.

The comforter on his bed was a simple dark color with a soft throw blanket laid out at the foot. His bedside table had a few books, all marked with bookmarks. His bathroom was on my left, like it was in my room but it was bigger. His shower was ten times bigger and I swallowed my jealousy. Across the room was his closet and I went there first. I wanted to snoop just a little.

Inside the closet, scattered on the floor, were his shoes. I'd expected it to be more neat but the pairs were thrown around like he'd come in and toss them about. I spotted a pair of his nice dress shoes, the smooth black leather ones that were definitely expensive, and two sets of running shoes. There were boots near the back as I knelt to the ground, a nice pair of hiking boots. I ignored the shoes as I got comfortable on the ground, raising a hand to run over his suit jackets and shirts hanging up.

All the fabrics were soft and smooth, all classy and monotone except for a few fun finds near the side hidden by the wall and the dark. They were fun colors, Hawaiian shirts that made a smile stretch upon my lips and an ache settled in my heart. There were parts of himself he'd shown me but so much of it was still hidden and it made this horrible feeling spread out in my gut and chest.

I dropped my hand from the shirts and looked around more on the floor, spotting an old box near the back. I leaned forward, lifting it and ragging it closer to me. It was a leather box that had a small latch on the front that was thankfully not locked. It was definitely an invasion of privacy but I couldn't help myself as I pulled the top off.

Inside were a stack of photographs and little trinkets. There was a pocket watch, gold and shiny with scuffs on the back along with an old engraving. To a friend. I smiled, setting it aside as I pulled out a small locket. It was in the simple shape of a heart and it looked and felt much older and more frail than the water. I carefully opened the little thing and inside was a faded picture of Crow and I closed it, knowing this had not belonged to him but someone who must've loved him. It wasn't mine to hold or look upon.

I settled the box in front of me and took out the stack of photos, flipping through them. There were lots of pictures of men I didn't know, all on old small photographs from decades ago. These were all images of his past life, of the life of a demon, except all the photos were of men and women smiling, drinks in hand, blurry and black and white and frozen in time. As I neared more of the recent pictures, my hands faltered.

Cage and Crow looked different together, smiling as they held beers outside someone's backyard. More of them in bars, some of them even in Clandestine. They looked so familiar with each other, best friends, not enemies like I'd been made out to think. Of course, I'd seen pictures of them together like this but seeing a handful, happiness in their faces, one after the other. It made their connection more prominent.

As I neared the end of the stack, I found a few of a woman unlike any in the shared photos of Crow and his friends. She was alone in every photograph, the coloring a light tan from age. Her skin was smooth and pale in the camera light, her eyes were close set and small, and I could see the way the light reflected in the brown, creating a color I couldn't even describe besides beautiful. Her dark hair was pulled back into a smooth bun at the nape of her neck but there were loose strands of hair cascading down the sides of her face. She was so beautiful it made the air in my lungs stutter. I flipped the photo over and on the back, in small writing, was the name Asha. There was no last name, nothing more than just a simple little name, and it was the same on the back of the rest of the photographs of her. There wasn't a date but I could tell from the photos it was from a long time ago, and guessing by that, Asha was dead by now. It made me feel calm, as horrible as that sounded, to know she was dead. But I knew Crow had loved through the years and whatever I thought we could have, as delusional as I was, it would never be what he had with these women.

There was one last photo in the stack and I smiled softly, emotion creeping up my face like something hot. It was only Crow in the image and from the background, I could tell he was somewhere tropical and warm. There were palm trees against the home he stood in front of. He was smiling, a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other. He was wearing one of those stupid Hawaiian shirts and shorts and I could only guess he probably had flip flops on his feet if they hadn't been cropped out. I let out a small laugh that sounded wet and harsh in the back of my throat. He was so handsome and that realization snuck up on me every time I thought about it. The way his lips were curved into a smile, his mouth parted just slightly like he'd been caught in a laugh. I wanted to keep the picture but I slipped it back into the stack.

I moved forward to put the pictures back in the box but stopped. There was a small envelope at the bottom of the box and as I lifted it out, I frowned. My name was scrawled on the front and I went to open it instantly but stopped.

I'd been invading his personal space, the only space in the house we didn't truly share. I hesitated once more but put the letter back inside the box along with the pictures. If Crow wanted to give it to me, he would. I couldn't take that from him, even though I'd love to tear through it like I have his closet.

I pushed the box back against the wall of the closet and stood, heading back over to his dresser to take his cologne with me. I allowed myself one sniff, the scent burning up my nose as I put the cap back on it. I noticed on his dresser he had a pack of cigarettes and a lighter and my fingers itched to take them for myself but I pulled myself away from his room, opening the door and closing it behind me to preserve what was left of him inside.

Blondie was sitting at the kitchen island, a pen in hand as she scrawled something out on a small piece of paper. She looked up as I entered and smiled, but I could see the exhaustion in her eyes. "Oh, perfect, you found something we can use." She pushed the paper to me and said, "These are some places I found where we can find the rest of the ingredients."

I let out a small laugh as I looked at the list. "You're telling me you found a place that sells frog livers?"

She nodded with pride. "And a place with black cat bones, too." She grinned, fanning her face as she said, "It's okay, you can worship me now. I get it, I'm awesome." She grabbed the cologne I'd placed on the counter and uncapped it to take a sniff and she sighed, easing back into her seat as she said, "I love the smell of cologne, it all smells just so...rich." She made a small face and quickly added, "Except for Axe and all the stuff high schoolers wear to be 'cool.'"

I tossed the small list of places to check out back on the counter. We had the names of two stores and I had a good feeling we'd luck out when we went searching tomorrow. It was way too late to do anything about it now.

I peeled my jacket off my arms and went to hang it up by the front door as Blondie finished off the leftovers at the island. I hung my jacket up beside one of Crow's old coats and I had that horrible urge to reach out and bring it to my nose to smell.

But it wouldn't be warm or fresh. It'd be cold, a shell of something.

"You know, we'll get him back," said Blondie from the counter.

I turned to look at her and nodded, even though I was breathless.

"We'll do this little ritual and he'll be back as if nothing happened," she continued but she noticed my smile falter and she added, "He'll be back, Blaire, he will."

"But will he be in one piece?" I whispered, finding it hard to breathe so I sucked in a deep breath to calm myself for the millionth time tonight. "We don't know what John's done to him already. He could be–" I shook my head and cleared my throat. "He could be really hurt."

"Oh my god," she breathed, lowering her fork as she stood up from where she'd been hunched over the counter.

"What?"

"Oh my god," she repeated herself.

"What?"

"You love him."

My mouth fell open and I stammered out, "Wh–no–Cass–I do not!"

"Oh my god!" she cried for a third time and whatever happiness that was about to burst onto her face shattered and her hands fell down to her sides and she said in a small voice, "It's okay to love him"

"Cass–"

She walked around the counter and towards me by the door. "No, I'm serious, Blaire. It's okay to love him, you know that, right?" She leaned her back against the counter as I met her in the kitchen. "He's a demon and he can't change that, just like you're a necromancer and you can't change that, but he's a good person. The way he looks at you..." She shook her head and crossed her arms. "All I'm saying is, that it's okay if you love him."

"Cass–" I tried again but she shook her head again.

"You don't have to tell me, not now, not ever," she said with a smile. "But just know it's okay and we'll get him back safe."

I could only nod back and hope she was right, that we'd somehow get him back safe before any true damage could occur to both him and me.

~

I met Blondie and Winker outside Clandestine in the parking lot across the street. It was slightly chilly out and I had to stuff my hands into my pockets to keep my fingers warm. It shouldn't be cold, spring was here and upon us like the blanket of warmth it should've been. Instead, we were fluctuating between stages of brief heat to thrilling chills. There was nothing here to settle the fearsome cold, and it seemed that the moment Crow had escaped through my fingers, I was left with this unbearable chill on my skin like permanent shakes and goosebumps.

I was thankful I had Crow's car because it's heater worked better than the one in my truck. I knew I'd have to go back to driving her but it felt nice to just sit back in the expensive leather and the working air and close my eyes and dream I'm in the passenger seat of some lovesick trauma.

A car rolled to a stop beside my own and Winker got out as Blondie nearly leapt from the passenger side with joy. He gave me a slight worried expression before saying, "Cass says I'm here for karate lessons?" He gave the church a quick glance. "Karate lessons at a church?" His brows furrowed and he glared suddenly as he groaned out, "These aren't karate lessons, are they?"

"So, I might've fibbed," muttered Blondie, "just a little bit."

"Don't tell me this is more demon business..." sighed Winker. "She already explained that Crow is gone so it's gotta be something bad, right? We're not, like, walking into a trap?"

I shook my head and pushed off from my spot on the car to walk towards the road as they walked beside me. "We gotta learn how to defend ourselves. And look," I sighed, "you don't have to do this, but I was you here because I don't know how involved John's people think you are and I can't let you go out and about without an inkling on how to defend yourself."

"I'm not some hopeless cause," said Winker. "I'm on the football and lacrosse team. I know how to give a beating."

"Yeah, but not against a demon, sweetie," said Cass as Winker gasped.

"Aren't you forgetting that John and I tried out for wrestling together last year? I totally beat his ass!"

"Not the same thing."

"She's got a point," I muttered with a slight grin as we walked up the front steps and went inside. It was significantly warmer here and if I had been wearing glasses, I'd suspect they would've started to fog up. The pews were empty and there weren't any candles lit where they should've been. It seemed, without Crow, things weren't running as smoothly as they had before.

"Cass also mentioned we've got some major cooking to do later," he said, rubbing the back of his head. "And I'm guessing it isn't the fun cooking she made me think."

"She's trying to protect you," I whispered as Blondie looked at the bulletin board up ahead of us.

"Then what the hell are we doing tonight?"

"Uh," I cracked a small smile, "it's better we talk about that later."

How do I tell you that we need to find bones? Livers? Blood? How much of this is supposed to seem normal?

I motioned for Blondie to follow me down the hallway towards the basement morgue and offices. Before I could open the door to the basement, Winker grabbed my shoulder and I glanced behind me to see him with his brows furrowed.

"What?"

"I hear people," he whispered. "Arguing."

I leaned closer to the door and listened carefully. Sure enough, there was muffled shouting. It wasn't the type of shouting that belonged to an argument but one that was home to a fight. There was the sound of struggling, something scratching loudly across the floor.

"Macabre isn't alone," said Blondie with a slight frown. "Who else would be here for this?"

I shrugged. I didn't think there was anyone left in the church who wasn't human who could be down there fighting with Macabre like this. It sounded violent, and the sound of screaming filled our ears like soft songs. It was a woman, I could tell that now, and that only made me more confused. There were no women in the Morticianers, and as much as I'd like to address that and how wrong it was, we didn't have the time because I was already opening the door and muttering under my breath, "Stay behind me."

I crept down the steps, careful of my feet as the wood groaned softly. The arguing continued, but even as we neared, it didn't sound like English. It sounded like Latin and yes, I know I have an inkling to the language but it usually just came to me magically and this was quick, fast, and unknowing to me.

A small ache spread out across my forehead and I reached out to grab the railing as I tried to blink away the oncoming ghost but as I continued down the steps, I descended into gray.

"Aw," came a voice and I had to round the corner to find the source, "did you miss me?"

Whatever joy I had been feeling before vanished. Standing behind a clearly angry frozen demon was Amy. He looked exactly as he had when I had killed him, save for a scorched face and blackened neck and hands. He still looked like a girl but I could see his true form trying to seep out from behind his host's face.

"Are you surprised?" he cooed with a sick grin. "Thought you'd seen the last of me, hmm?"

I ignored his imitation and rolled my eyes. "Do you want something or did you just come here to be annoying?" My hand touched my side pocket and I tried to ignore the way my brows fluttered at the fear of remembering I didn't have my knife. If we were to unfreeze and time was going to resume, I'd be screwed against the demon in the chair, who I'd have to admit was strikingly beautiful but I couldn't dwell on that now.

"I just want to chat," said Amy with a shrug. "Is that so wrong? I missed my little murderer."

"Shouldn't you be in hell?"

"Can't go unless you give me that final push." Amy narrowed his eyes. "And I'm assuming you won't be doing that anytime soon."

"And you'd be right," I ground out behind a clenched jaw. I didn't have time for this, there was too much I needed to be doing.

"Come on!" Amy cried, stomping his foot. "You're supposed to be helping us–"

"I help ghosts, not demons."

"We're all spirits in one way or another, so where's the harm!?"

I crossed my arms tightly. "I also don't think I should be helping the demon who tried to get me killed."

"I'm sorry, okay?" spat Amy with a scowl. "I was only doing what I was told!"

"Yeah, but you failed to mentioned your boss was the fucking devil!"

"Yeah, yeah, so what? We're all workin' for the devil, Blaire!"

I scowled. "You coming here was a waste of time."

Amy squeezed his hands into fists by his side as he walked around the chair to truly face me. His face, even in the gray, was turning red from frustration. "You're not evil, Blaire," he said in a shockingly even voice. "You won't just leave me here to waste away on this plane."

"Really?" I laughed. "You don't think I'll just let you stay here and suffer?" I shook my head with another hollow laugh. "You don't know me as well as you think you do. Go find another necromancer–" I knew my words were wrong and I should've stopped myself but I couldn't help it. I'd forgotten my legacy.

"There are no other necromancers!" cried Amy. "There is no one left to do the job! You're all we got!" Amy glanced around nervously and pressed his hands to his chest. "You don't get it, okay? There are people here who have it out for me, I can't just stay here and wait for them to get me. They'll kill me," there was a tremor in his voice, "for good."

"Seems like that's your problem."

"Help me! Please! I'll do anything!"

I smiled softly, the grin coming to my lips like something toxic. "I didn't peg you as someone who would resort to begging," my smile turned dangerous, "I like you like this, all pathetic and sad."

Act like this but remember how this death hurt you. Remember the pain of killing someone you thought was a friend.

"Maybe if you can help me, I can help you," I said with a shrug and Amy raced forward, grabbing me by the shoulders with a cry.

"Anything! I'll do anything!"

I met his eyes and felt a sense of triumph for having him right in my palm. "Anything?"

He nodded, furiously.

"Tell me, where's John Walker?"

Amy's face fell and he stepped back and away from me. "You want to know where the devil is?"

I nodded. "He was your boss, you should know where I can find him."

Amy rubbed the back of his head and I ignored how the nasty blackened skin shifted and made a soft cracking noise with his movements. "I'm surprised, honestly." He let out a laugh of disbelief. "I would've thought, out of everything, you would've asked me where to find Crow considering how close you two have gotten. Some of the little ghosties here have been saying you two are lovers." I didn't let him read my expression so he quickly added, "Sorry to burst your bubble but I don't know where to find him."

I frowned. "You worked for him, you have to know where he is."

He shook his head. "I've never seen his compound. We always met in local places so it'd be inconspicuous, normal."

"So, you're telling me you're no help whatsoever?"

"Basically."

I waved my hand at him, hoping to blur his specter. "Goodbye, Amy."

"Wh-what?" His face fell into something unrecognizable on him. He was sad, upset, and truly confused.

"If you can't help me, I can't help you," I shrugged.

"You can't just leave me here," he said, his voice growing in volume with every word. "You have to help me!"

"I don't have to do anything–"

He interrupted me, his face going red and his shoulder began to shake as he yelled. "Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you!"

"If you have an actual answer, maybe we can help each other!" I shouted back, the gray around us feeling like static against my skin. It was buzzing with energy. "Come to me with an answer." I forced myself a step away and the gray dissolved like dirt in water.

"How the hell did you get in here?" snapped Macabre and I turned abruptly to look at him. The woman in the chair had begun to thrash and scream again, her long black hair flying around her shoulders like a cape. "We've been waiting for over an hour."

"Huh?"

"We're starting with the first lesson," he snapped, going around to stand behind the woman. "Basic combat skills. I need to know what you're capable of."

"How are we supposed to do that?" asked Blondie as she came down the stairs followed by Winker. "We're just gonna fight you? You're, like, an old guy."

Macabre scowled and his brows knitted together in irritation. "You won't be fighting me."

"Then who?"

Macabre, with a wave of his arm, motioned to the woman. "She's your first obstacle."

A look of surprise stretched across Blondie's face and she took a step back against Winker as she murmured, "Wait, what–"

Macabre tore the restraints off the woman keeping her attached to the chair and she was up in a flash of hurried motions. She made her move quickly, dashing with equal parts speed and agility before launching herself at Blondie. She caught the girl around the waist as she ran forward, bringing her forward with the momentum and knocking her flat on her back.

The woman had Blondie restrained on the ground and used her legs to then send Winker crashing to the floor with them. He landed roughly on his side and he grunted as Blondie tried to keep the woman back by her shoulders. She was snarling and hissing like something completely feral and it left me to try and separate them.

I did the only thing I could think of and that was to side tackle the woman off Blondie. I hit her hard, the impact surely leaving me bruised as we rolled off and away on the floor. I knew I didn't have the woman's strength or agility, but I knew from my fights with the Morticianers how to protect myself from the worst of it. But today, I just wasn't strong enough.

She got me across the face with her nails. She dug into the skin on my jaw and a sharp stinging sensation spread across my face instantly. I gritted my teeth and kept her away from me by doing what Blondie had done, keeping my hands on her shoulders to push her back.

Blondie and Winker worked together behind her, grabbing her arms and throwing her off me. She skidded across the ground but jumped to her feet with catlike ease. She gave us a horrible grin and blew the hair out of her face before charging at us. I allowed her to take me by pushing Blondie, who was closest to the impact, out of the way. The woman grabbed me easily and knocked me back against the wall which was closer to me than I had anticipated.

I avoided my head being smacked back against the cold metal of the mortuary cabinet, but she took me by the throat and leaned closer as I tried to turn my head away from her.

"Don't like how close we are, do you?" she purred, leaning closer as I turned to look her in the eyes. "I can get closer, if you like that–"

I took my chance and moved my head just enough to knock my forehead hard enough into hers to get her off balance. Unfortunately for me, it also made me unbalanced. I stood there dazed, rubbing my forehead as the woman rubbed her own with a scowl. She turned to snarl at Blondie but in a quick motion, Winker was beside her and punching her in the side of the face like he'd been in fights like this before. It was a cool, swift motion that sent the woman stumbling away with a grunt.

She rubbed her cheek with a small chuckle. "You're tougher than you all look."

"You haven't seen shit, bitch," spat Blondie as she ran up on the woman.

She jumped onto her back, taking her by the neck from behind. The woman gasped, trying to pull at Blondie and they stumbled through the room before the woman got her arms firmly around Blondie's and flipped her off. Blondie landed roughly on her back and yelped at the impact, rolling onto her side as she gasped for breath.

"Can we be done now?" asked the demon, glancing past me and towards Macabre as she rested a hand on her hip. "I don't want to damage them beyond repair. We've only just started."

"Blaire, Cassandra, Luke," said Macabre as he came up to stand beside me, "meet Evangeline."

The demon smiled and stepped forward with her hand outstretched, "Please, call me Eva."

I took her hand in mine and shook it gently before she went to help Blondie sit up. I glanced over at Macabre and with a nervous smile, I asked, "So, uh, how do you two know each other?"

"Are you guys, you know..." muttered Blondie as she sat up, rubbing the back of her head. "...together?"

Eva blanched, her cheeks turning a slight pink as she shook her head. "God, no! I'm his sister-in-law," she said. She looked towards Macabre and with a slight smirk, she added, "Besides, I'm not exactly his type."

Macabre scowled and I could see just the faintest hue of pink stain his cheeks. "You just love sharing my personal information–"

"It's not my fault you've decided to be a total secluded weirdo-"

"Evangeline, I swear to god–"

"Victor, Eva," said a voice from the stairs and our heads turned quickly at the sound, "will you two ever not argue when I leave the room?"

The man facing us at the bottom of the stairs was tall with dark hair streaked with gray. He had his hands stuffed into his large black overcoat and he had a friendly smile as well as dark eyes. He walked over to us and put a hand on Macabre's shoulder and pressed a chaste kiss to his cheek before he turned to me and gave me a good look over as he said, "You must be Blaire Lake." He stuck his hand out. "I'm Monroe."

As I took his hand to shake, I noticed the wedding hand on his opposite hand. It was a simple gold band and I felt a small smile come to my face as Monroe said, "Don't take this the wrong way but I feel like I already know you. Vic's told me a lot about you."

"I wish I could say the same," I said back. "Macabre has failed to mention he has such a handsome husband."

Letting out a hearty laugh, Monroe nodded. "He fails to mention many things." He glanced back at Eva and asked, "So, what's on the agenda today?"

"Basic combat skills," said Winker, his hand on Blondie's back.

"I've been told Blaire is good on her feet, but what about you two?" he asked, motioning for them to follow him towards the more open space near the opposite side of the room. Eva followed them, her arms crossed over her chest with an unimpressed look on her face.

I stayed back with Macabre, standing next to him as I watched Blondie and Winker go through defensive stances. With my eyes still forward, I said to the demon beside me, "I didn't know you were married."

He shrugged. "Did you expect me to tell you in between you killing my coworkers or at your mother's funeral, hmm?"

I scowled. "I mean I've never seen a ring."

"It's difficult to keep things safe in this line of work."

"Well," I sighed, "he seems nice." I watched Eva and Monroe slowly spar to show the proper movements and I took silent notes before asking, "They're siblings? How does that work in demon terms?"

"The demons inside of them aren't related but the hosts are," he explained. "They're both inborns."

"And how did you two meet?"

I caught a faint smile on his face as he spoke. "We met about a century ago, in the early nineteen hundreds. He was in blue collar work and I was just a passerby in town." He let out a soft chuckle. "I wasn't meant to stay in town longer than a day or so but we met and well," he glanced at me and a scowl replaced his smile, "don't let me regret telling you this but it was love at first sight–"

"Aw!"

He rolled his eyes. "He introduced himself as Monroe Adams–"

I held up a hand, making him stop as a slow smile spread across my face at the realization. "Wait, his last name is Adams? His sister's name is Eva, practically Eve," I let out a laugh, "they're like the demon equivalent to Adam and Eve–"

Monroe called my name across the room, motioning for me to join them. I began to walk over as Macabre shook his head at my comment and I said over my shoulder, "It's, like, totally ironic. Demons as Adam and Eve, it's kind of funny, am I right–"

I didn't get out another word before I was turning to face Monroe and a fist collided with my face.

ive been putting off writing these chapters bc it makes me sad it's gonna b over :(( 

hope u all liked this chap and let me know what u think!!!!!!! <33